Rolls for reducing old rails to angle-bars



(N0 ModeI.)

J. REESE.

ROLLS FOR REDUCING OLD RAILS T0 ANGLE BARS.

Patented Oct. 11,1887.}

HIIIITITT FFIQEO JACOB REESE, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

ROLLS FOR REDUCING OLD RAlLS T O ANGLE-BARS.-

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 371,359, dated (October 11, 1327.

Applieati-m filed February 18, 1884. Serial No. l2l,21J-'1. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, Ji-ioon REESE, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented aeertain new and useful Improvement in the Utilization of Old Rails in the Manufacture of Angie Shapes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which-- Figure 1 indicates a front elevation of a set of rolls provided with a series of grooves adapted to reduce the flange and web of the rail into a finished angle-bar. Fig. 2 indicates a front elevation of a set of rolls provided with a series of suitable grooves for reducing the flange and web of a rail into finished angle fish-plates. Fig. 3 indicates an end view of the web and flange of a rail as slit from the head previous to subjecting the metal to the rolling operation. Fig. 4 indicates an end view of a set of finished angle fislrplates adjusted on a rail indicating the mode of fasten ing the former to the latter.

Angle shapes have heretofore been rolled out of blooms, billets, and piles; but in my present invention I propose to produce them from old rails. The characteristic features of theinvention, therefore,are, the web and flange of the rail are subjected to the reducing action of a series of passes, which are so arranged as to force down one side of the flange and distri bute the displaced metal into the other portion of the blank, thus producing an angle-blank, which is then reduced by subsequent passes into the finished size, shape, or form desired. Both sides of ordinary angle-shapes are made of the same width. In such manufacture I therefore propose to ordinarily slit the head off of the rail previous to subjecting the metalv to the rolling operation, as such a mode of procedure gives an initial blank, which requires but little redistribution of metal to bring it to the form desired. In such manufacture the old rails are heated to a temperature of about 1,500 Fahrenheit, and slit, as shown by Fig. 3, which may be done by means of the machine patented to me in Patent No. 7,680, of May 15, 1877. The web and flange or rail-blank is then passed through the grooved rolls (shown in Fig. 1) until the metal is red need to the desired form. In this operation the action ofthe first pass, A, reduces themctal in the upper side of the flange and forces it down, deepening and thickening the lower or opposite side. This action is repeated by the second pass in the groove l and also in the third or 0 pass, by which time the blank assumes a rough angle form. The remaining passes are of ordinary character, and bring the angle-blank to the finished form in the usual manner.

By this method steel angle shapes of all sizes from four by four to two by two inches may be male; but when smaller angles are desired it is necessary to pass the angle-blank through ordinary angle-edging grooves, as will be readily understood by those familiar with rolling operations. \Vhcn larger sizes are wantedfor instance, such as four by six or four by seven inches -f do not slit the head from the rail, but retain it to give more metal to form the larger or widest side of the angle. In this case it is necessary to construct the rolls with suitable grooves for rolling the web and head into one side of the angle and roll the flange down into the other side.

In Fig. 2 a set of rolls is shown similar to those of the preceding figure, except the last 1 groove, E, is of the peculiar form used to form the angle-blank into the required shape for angle fish-plates.

It is advisable to turn up the grooves for reducing one side of the flangcthat is, the grooves A, B, and O-so that room may be had to allow the metal to flow laterally into the web, as a tendency to a greater or less amount of lateral flow will exist during this part of the operation, and it can be provided for without taking too much metal from the flange.

The advantages of utilizing old rails in the manufacture of iron and steel angle shapes are, first, old steel rails are now selling at twentythree dollars per ton, while steel blooms and billets are worth from thirty-five to forty dollars; second, the rails maybe rolled into steel angles at less cost of labor and with less expenditure of p ower than required when blooms and billets are used; third, the capacity of the mill is largely increased, as less reduction is necessary, so that indirectly all incidental expenses are lowered and greater economy of The rollshavingtihe passes, the first approximanufacture is secured; and, finally, when mating to the shape of a rail, the last to the 10 slit rails are used, the rail-heads are worth as shape of an angle-bar, and the intervening billets five dollars more per ton than the price passes shaped substantially as described.

5 of old rails. JACOB REESE.

Having described my invention, what) I \Vitnesses: claim, and desire to sezu re by Letters Patent, 0. 0. LEE, is- FRANK M. REEsE. 

